Larger Bodies Research Articles

Predictors of past avian translocation outcomes inform feasibility of future efforts under climate change

Conservation translocations – the intentional movement of individuals from one area to another for conservation purposes – provide a potential response to climate change, but can be costly and risky. To help improve translocation outcomes and assess their feasibility as a climate adaptation tool, we analyzed past conservation translocations (176 bird species at 680 sites globally) as a proxy for future efforts. To determine predictors of annual survival of released birds, we used generalized linear mixed models. Species with larger bodies and relative brain size had higher survival. Survival was also higher in protected areas, with subsequent releases at a site, for more recent years, and where the initial cause of decline was removed (n = 435 releases). Of particular relevance to climate-motivated translocations, longer distance translocations decreased survival; there was no evidence that greater climate differences between source and release sites (n = 117 releases), or releases beyond the indigenous range (“managed relocation”, n = 435 releases), reduced survival. We also assessed how reproduction varied with release rates (birds/year) and species' generation lengths. Species with long generation lengths released at high rates had similar reproductive success to species with short generation lengths released at low rates. These findings can improve conservation translocation decisions by informing expected outcomes for target species, and identifying site features and management practices that maximize the likelihood of success. We also provide an empirical assessment of potential challenges of using conservation translocations in response to climate change, including evidence that longer distance translocations may be less feasible than shorter distance translocations.

Reproductive biology of the Sword Snake Tomodon dorsatus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) in South Brazil: comparisons within the tribe Tachymenini

Abstract We described the reproductive cycle, size-fecundity relationships, reproductive effort, and sexual maturity of Tomodon dorsatus in South Brazil. We examined 87 individuals (25 males and 62 females) from herpetological collections. The description of the reproductive cycle was based on the morpho-anatomical and histological changes in male testes, ductus deferens, and kidney and in female ovary and oviduct. The age at the onset of sexual maturity was estimated by skeletochronology of the caudal vertebra. The reproduction is seasonal semi-synchronous with most of the individuals showing a reproductive peak in the spring. Males and females have developed sperm storage strategies, increasing the reproductive success. Males store sperm in the ductus deferens during the autumn and winter, while females storage takes place in the utero-vaginal junction furrows during the autumn and early winter. Larger females produce a higher number of larger follicles and eggs. Females invest more in growth before reaching sexual maturity than males. Females reach sexual maturity earlier (4 years old) than males (5 years old) and have larger bodies but lower longevity. Reproductive strategies of Tachymenini specie are highly conserved.

Experimental Effects of Viewing Thin and Plus-Size Models in Objectifying and Empowering Contexts on Instagram

ABSTRACT To counter the negative effects of viewing unrealistically thin and attractive models in beauty and fashion advertisements, some companies depict women with larger bodies in their advertisement campaigns. Previous experimental evidence suggests women may feel more satisfied with their own bodies immediately after viewing advertisements featuring these models. The current study aimed to extend these findings by examining the moderating role of trait body discrepancies and the presence of objectifying advertising slogans in advertisements. A sample of 202 undergraduate students who identified as female viewed advertisements depicted on Instagram that varied in the model’s body size (thin or plus-size) and slogan type (objectifying or empowering). Body satisfaction and actual-ideal body discrepancy were measured. As expected, the body size of the model significantly improved women’s body satisfaction and this effect was moderated by participants’ actual-ideal body discrepancy. No effects for objectifying slogans (versus empowering slogans) featured in the advertisements were discovered. The implications for these findings are discussed.

The Importance of Perceived Body-Inclusiveness among Physically Active Women in Larger Bodies

Despite the many benefits of physical activity, women participate less frequently than men do, and this is particularly the case among women in larger bodies. The purpose of the present study was to examine one factor that might influence this pattern: the presence of perceived body-inclusive physical activity spaces. The authors collected data from 253 U.S. women, all of whom were active in some form of physical activity over the past year. Results show that as perceived body-inclusiveness increased, so too did women’s identification with the physical activity. Further analyses showed the relationship was significant among women who were in larger bodies, but not for women who were average weight. The authors discuss implications for the delivery and management of physical activity programming.

The Associations Between Self-Perceived Actual and Ideal Body Sizes and Physical Activity Among Early Adolescents.

This study examined the association between self-perceived actual and ideal body sizes and objectively assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among adolescents, controlling for puberty, fat mass index, and sex. A secondary objective was to explore the association between objectively assessed fat mass index and MVPA. Participants were 438 early adolescents (Mage = 11.61, SD = 0.92). Participants selected body sizes that represented their self-perceived actual and ideal bodies. Participants then wore an accelerometer for 1 week to assess MVPA. Polynomial regression analysis with response surface methods was used to explore MVPA in relation to the discrepancy and agreement (ie,no discrepancy) between self-perceived actual and ideal body sizes. When self-perceived actual and ideal body sizes were in agreement and represented smaller and larger bodies, MVPA was low. Participants with similar self-perceived actual and ideal bodies in the middle of the body-size spectrum demonstrated the highest levels of MVPA. The direction and degree of the discrepancy between self-perceived actual and ideal bodies were not significantly associated with MVPA. Fat mass index was significantly and negatively associated with MVPA. These findings may inform physical activity promotion programs and provide methodological contributions to the study of how body image and MVPA are related.

Gravity-dominated Collisions: A Model for the Largest Remnant Masses with Treatment for "Hit and Run" and Density Stratification.

We develop empirical relationships for the accretion and erosion of colliding gravity-dominated bodies of various compositions under conditions expected in late-stage solar system formation. These are fast, easily coded relationships based on a large database of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of collisions between bodies of different compositions, including those that are water rich. The accuracy of these relations is also comparable to the deviations of results between different SPH codes and initial thermal/rotational conditions. We illustrate the paucity of disruptive collisions between major bodies, as compared to collisions between less massive planetesimals in late-stage planet formation, and thus focus on more probable, low-velocity collisions, though our relations remain relevant to disruptive collisions as well. We also pay particular attention to the transition zone between merging collisions and those where the impactor does not merge with the target, but continues downrange, a “hit-and-run” collision. We find that hit-and-run collisions likely occur more often in density-stratified bodies and across a wider range of impact angles than suggested by the most commonly used analytic approximation. We also identify a possible transitional zone in gravity-dominated collisions where larger bodies may undergo more disruptive collisions when the impact velocity exceeds the sound speed, though understanding this transition warrants further study. Our results are contrary to the commonly assumed invariance of total mass (scale), density structure, and material composition on the largest remnants of giant impacts. We provide an algorithm for adopting our model into N-body planet formation simulations, so that the mass of growing planets and debris can be tracked.

Questioning the Ethics of Promoting Weight Loss in Clinical Practice

This case study considers the ethical defensibility of recommending weight loss as a treatment for patients with higher body mass indexes. Recommending weight loss may be motivated by clinicians’ biases toward people living in larger bodies, misperceptions about weight and its relevancy to overall health, and a failure to consider other ethical factors such as those related to equity and the social determinants of health.

Genome size variation is associated with life‐history traits in birds

AbstractGenome size markedly displays variation across taxa. Genome size variation is affected by two principally different mechanisms (such as whole‐genome duplication events (polyploidization) and accumulation of noncoding elements). In addition, genome size variation is also affected by the phylogenetic signal, life‐history traits and environmental factors. Here, we studied the relationships between genome size and life‐history traits (e.g. clutch size, hatching time, fledging time, age at sexual maturity, longevity and body mass) among 240 species of birds using a phylogenetic comparative analysis and path analysis. We found that genome size was positively correlated with both body mass and hatching time. We also found that body mass was positively correlated with hatching time, age at sexual maturity and longevity in birds. Our findings suggest that although genome size was directly linked to body mass, evolution of larger genomes was also associated with larger bodies by the prolonged hatching time.

Weight Inclusive Practice: Shifting the Focus from Weight to Social Justice.

Obesity is framed by mainstream media and health care professionals as an "epidemic" contributing to the ill health of the population. This paper reviews literature related to dominant discourses about weight in dietetics, drawing on literature from other health care disciplines, and how these discourses influence patient care. Emerging, competing discourses are also reviewed. Literature highlighted that dietitians and dietetic students are often biased and hold stigmatizing beliefs toward "overweight" and "obese" patients. No research has been conducted in Canada addressing this question, leaving this as an opportunity for future research. Weight stigma and interventions focused on weight have multiple negative implications for individuals, especially those living in larger bodies, including reluctance to seek health care, poor body image, subsequent weight gain, and increased disordered eating. There are alternative discourses emerging, which shift the focus away from weight and toward social justice. The ways in which dietetic students are trained to "manage" weight, and how dominant discourses influence this training, is an important area of future exploration. Dietetic professionals are encouraged to reflect on their weight biases and educate themselves on weight inclusive approaches to health, such as Health at Every Size and Well Now.

“Fat People Exercise Too!”: Perceptions and Realities of Shopping for Women’s Plus-Size Exercise Apparel

Women, regardless of size, should have access to functional, fashionable, and affordable exercise apparel. Grounded in Lamb and Kallal’s Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic Consumer Needs Model, we explored (a) women’s perceptions of plus-size exercise apparel and shopping experiences and (b) plus-size exercise apparel at online retailers. In Study 1, women reported their shopping behaviors, satisfaction, affect, and feedback for designer and retailers. In Study 2, availability, cost, and color variety of plus-size exercise T-shirts were documented at online retailers. Images of product models and sizing chart variations were examined. Women were generally dissatisfied with apparel-related functionality, fashionability, and cost. Plus-size exercise T-shirts at online retailers were limited in color variety and size availability and cost more than straight-size apparel. Unrealistic models and wide sizing variations appear problematic. Advocacy and action are needed to provide women with larger bodies’ equitable access to functional, expressive, aesthetic, and affordable exercise apparel.

Bistatic Radar Occultations of Planetary Surfaces

Assessing the variability of surface roughness on planetary bodies is crucial for understanding the physical mechanisms that have governed their surface evolution. In addition, it provides constraints on surface texture uncertainties associated with landing, anchoring, surface trafficability, and sampling. Herein, we present how orbital bistatic radar (BSR) observations can be successfully conducted during occultations, and thereby used to achieve the above scientific and technical objectives for key planetary bodies that are under investigation by current and future missions. For different planetary bodies without dense atmospheres, we calculate the theoretical differential Doppler shift ( $\delta f$ ) between the direct and surface-scattered signals that precede and follow radio occultations during opportunistic BSR experiments. For occultations that last ~ 10 min, we find that small bodies with diameters $\pmb {\lesssim }100$ km will exhibit $\vert \delta f\vert ~\pmb {\lesssim } 5$ Hz, and larger bodies with diameters $\pmb {\gtrsim }500$ km will have $\vert \delta f\vert ~\pmb {\gtrsim }50$ Hz. Our results suggest that opportunistic BSR observations of targets $\pmb {\lesssim }100$ km in diameter will require an ultrastable oscillator (USO) aboard the spacecraft to retrieve surface echoes and constrain surface roughness.

You can buy a child a curvy Barbie doll, but you can’t make her like it: Young girls’ beliefs about Barbie dolls with diverse shapes and sizes

This study utilized Mattel’s new line of Fashionista Barbie dolls to examine attitudes about body shape and size in a sample of young girls. A total of 84 girls, 3–10 years of age, were asked to assign positive or negative traits to Barbie dolls which varied in size and shape (original, tall, petite, and curvy). Participants also answered questions about their preferences for the dolls and completed measures of body dissatisfaction. Results generally demonstrated greater negative attitudes towards the curvy Barbie doll and more positive attitudes towards dolls with a thinner body size/shape (i.e., original, tall, and petite dolls). Girls identified the curvy Barbie as the doll they least wanted to play with. Additionally, girls with higher levels of body dissatisfaction demonstrated less negative attitudes towards the original doll. Overall, findings demonstrate a preference for thin bodies and aversion towards larger bodies among young girls. Further, findings suggest that the simple availability of body-diverse dolls may not be a powerful enough intervention to overcome harmful weight attitudes, and highlight the importance of continued efforts to encourage exposure to and acceptance of diverse body shapes and sizes in young children.

Songs of Nature in Medieval Northern France: Landscape, Identity, and Environment

Thirteenth-century trouvère songs and motets often begin with a conventionalized introduction in which the sensory experience of a springtime landscape inspires the composer to think of his beloved and to sing. Long derided as insincere by critics or simply ignored, the “springtime opening” of the trouvères represents one of the largest bodies of nature imagery in medieval vernacular song. Drawing on a corpus of over one hundred songs and motets, this article offers an ecomusicological reconsideration of the springtime opening, revealing that the way individual medieval composers invoked nature imagery was often correlated with their status and geography. Aristocratic trouvères, who had ready access to open expanses of land on their estates, used the opening often and earnestly. An emerging group of urban trouvères, many of whom were educated clerics, rarely invoked the springtime opening, and when they did, they distanced themselves from it through clever inversions and parody. I argue that these divergent reactions to nature imagery likely reflected lived experiences in the environment, and further, that the songs bear witness to major changes in land management in urban and rural northern France. These songs and motets prompt observations about the relationships between nature, culture, and crisis in medieval and modern society.

Effects of body size and root to shoot ratio on foliar nutrient resorption efficiency in Amaranthus mangostanus.

Nutrient resorption is essential for plant nutrient conservation. Large-bodied plants potentially have large nutrient sink pools and high nutrient flux. Whether and how nutrient resorption can be regulated by plant size and biomass allocation are yet unknown. Using the herbaceous plant Amaranthus mangostanus in greenhouse experiments for two consecutive years, we measured plant biomass, height, and stem diameter and calculated the root to shoot biomass ratio (R/S ratio) and nutrient resorption efficiency (NuRE) to assess the effects of plant body size and biomass allocation on NuRE. NuRE was calculated as the percentage reduction in leaf nutrient concentration from green leaf to senesced leaf. NuRE increased with plant biomass, height, and stem diameter, suggesting that the individuals with larger bodies, which led to a larger nutrient pool, tended to resorb proportionally more nutrients from the senescing leaves. NuRE decreased with increasing root to shoot ratio, which might have reflected the nutrient acquisition trade-offs between resorption from the senescent leaves and absorption from the soil. Increased root biomass allocation increased the proportion of nutrient acquisition through absorption more than through resorption. This study presented the first experimental evidence of how NuRE is linked to plant size (indicated by biomass, height, and stem diameter) and biomass allocation, suggesting that nutrient acquisition could be modulated by the size of the nutrient sink pool and its partitioning in plants, which can improve our understanding of a conservation mechanism for plant nutrients. The body size and root to shoot ratio effects might also partly explain previous inconsistent reports on the relationships between environmental nutrient availability and NuRE.

Scorpion body size, litter characteristics, and duration of the life cycle (Scorpiones)

There are no studies that quantitatively compare life histories among scorpion species. Statistical procedures applied to 94 scorpion species indicate that those with larger bodies do not necessarily have larger litters or longer life cycles, opposite to some theoretical predictions.

Flow gradient drives morphological divergence in an Amazon pelagic stream fish

Body shape and size variations are common in stream fishes, and morphological differences can have either a genetic or non-genetic basis. Flow has been indicated as one of the causes of intraspecific variation, and shifts in stream-fish body morphology are related to swimming performance and to individual fitness. Although populations in lotic versus lentic habitats have been compared, the effects of a flow gradient on fish shape are little studied. We tested differences in size, body shape and caudal-peduncle morphology of a pelagic fish that inhabits streams with different velocities in two basins, using geometric morphometrics to evaluate shifts in body morphology. Fish from lower-flow velocities had larger bodies that were deeper posteriorly; fish from higher-flow velocities were smaller and more streamlined. Shape variation among specimens was significantly influenced by the local velocity, with similar responses in fish body shape in the different basins. We showed that selective pressures generated by flow velocities affect fish shape in the same way in both basins. Fish body size, shape and caudal-peduncle morphology affect swimming performance, which could influence the energy costs for survival. Our results with a small pelagic characid help to elucidate questions on morphological predictions for fishes across flow regimes.

Mate choice in the parasitoid Lysiphlebus fabarum is conditioned by host species and influences progeny fitness

We used the aphid parasitoid wasp, Lysiphlebus fabarum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) reared on host aphids Aphis fabae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Aphis gossypii to examine whether or not mating preference can be conditioned by the host species on which the wasps were reared. The effect of the parental hosts on the fitness of the progeny was also examined. The results revealed that male and female wasps reared on one host species preferred each other as mates than those individuals reared on a different species. This was demonstrated by counting the number of mating successes and the olfactory response of males to the odor of females that developed in Aphis fabae or A. gossypii. The results also revealed that conditional mate choice mediated by a host species increased the fitness of the female progeny (i.e. larger bodies, shorter developmental time and higher egg load with larger eggs), and led to a higher female sex ratio. Because the particular host species confers fitness on the developed wasps, the fitness traits appear in the progeny when both parents are reared on one host species, but not in the progeny of two parents reared on different host species.

New light on the geology of the Roundstone intrusion, its inversion and that of the Grampian metagabbro-gneiss complex, Connemara, western Ireland

The northern part of the ~470 Ma syntectonic D2 basic and ultrabasic Roundstone intrusion into the Connemara Dalradian metasediments has been mapped in detail for the first time and consists of metagabbros containing a 180m peridotite xenolith and later injections of Quartz diorite gneiss which silicified and agmatised some of the metagabbros. With the already studied southern (Errisbeg) part, plus over 300 chemical analyses of rocks and over 400 probe analyses of minerals, this enables a synthesis of the geology of the whole intrusion. A tholeiitic magma crystallised olivine Fo83-76, orthopyroxene En84-59, diopside to salite and plagioclase from An96-42, and late stage cumulus magnetite. The exceptionally high An% is indicative of high pH2O with copious water (derived from dewatering of a subduction zone?) as is the abundant hornblende that replaced most of the magmatic minerals, the magma being comparable with that of the Lesser Antilles Island arc. The intrusion was formed by numerous already fractionated magma pulses intruded in upward sequence, closely (~467 Ma) followed by pulses of Quartz diorite to granite gneisses with magmatic hornblende, not by closed system fractionation of a single magma injection. The peridotites were mostly carried in as already solidified xenoliths by pulses of gabbro magma. Only the larger bodies in the Errisbeg part of the intrusion were intruded as magma.

New light on the geology of the Roundstone intrusion, its inversion and that of the Grampian metagabbro-gneiss complex, Connemara, western Ireland

The northern part of the ~470 Ma syntectonic D2 basic and ultrabasic Roundstone intrusion into the Connemara Dalradian metasediments has been mapped in detail for the first time and consists of metagabbros containing a 180m peridotite xenolith and later injections of Quartz diorite gneiss which silicified and agmatised some of the metagabbros. With the already studied southern (Errisbeg) part, plus over 300 chemical analyses of rocks and over 400 probe analyses of minerals, this enables a synthesis of the geology of the whole intrusion. A tholeiitic magma crystallised olivine Fo83-76, orthopyroxene En84-59, diopside to salite and plagioclase from An96-42, and late stage cumulus magnetite. The exceptionally high An% is indicative of high pH2O with copious water (derived from dewatering of a subduction zone?) as is the abundant hornblende that replaced most of the magmatic minerals, the magma being comparable with that of the Lesser Antilles Island arc. The intrusion was formed by numerous already fractionated magma pulses intruded in upward sequence, closely (~467 Ma) followed by pulses of Quartz diorite to granite gneisses with magmatic hornblende, not by closed system fractionation of a single magma injection. The peridotites were mostly carried in as already solidified xenoliths by pulses of gabbro magma. Only the larger bodies in the Errisbeg part of the intrusion were intruded as magma.

DOLOMITE FORMATION BY NANOCRYSTAL AGGREGATION IN THE DOLOMIA PRINCIPALE OF THE BRENTA DOLOMITES (NORTHERN ITALY)

Upper intra- to supratidal laminites in the Norian Dolomia Principale of the Brenta Dolomites (Northern Italy) commonly consist of aphanitic and partially peloidal dolomite previously interpreted as very early diagenetic or penecontemporaneous. Re-examination of a sample prepared by focused ion beam milling through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that dolomicrite crystals may consist of ca. 5-nm-sized nanocrystals characterized by imperfectly aligned orientation. A similar type of dolomite was found in clay-rich Carnian laminites of the Travenanzes Formation (Venetian Alps, Northern Italy) and was interpreted as indication of primary precipitation. The observation of nanocrystals in both the Dolomia Principale and the Travenanzes Formation allows hypothesizing that dolomite mud formed directly from solution via a non-classical pathway involving nucleation and aggregation of nano-particles. Domains of nanocrystalline dolomite in the Dolomia Principale are embedded within, or cemented by, calcian dolomite showing coherent lattice at the micrometre scale and a modulated structure under the TEM. This new finding provides the first evidence that one of the largest dolomite bodies occurring in the geological record, the Dolomia Principale, commenced with deposition of sediment, consisting of dolomite mud formed from solution via non-classical crystallization, and was partially affected by later pervasive diagenetic dolomitization. Based on these new observations we propose that further nano-scale studies are necessary to substantiate the hypothesis that the formation of large dolomite bodies characterized by abundant dolomicrite may have commenced by non-classical nucleation and growth processes. This approach may provide insight on non-actualistic conditions in ancient environments that may have differed, in their boundary conditions, from their modern analogues.